Tell me at one or two small thing you've done to make your life easier

[listsandbudgets]

I've done 2 this year

1. I've unsubscribed / marked as spam from nearly all my mailing lists. Now my inbox is an oasis of calm and I don't spend what feels like hours every week wading through emails I don't want My spam file is brimming over!
2. I found a sharpie and (once I was sure they were the right way round!) labelled my double fitted sheets with side and top - wish I'd done this years ago not having to shuffle them about trying to work out which way up they go

Those of you who use holiday packing apps, which ones do you recommend?

Absolutely loving this thread, particularly as I'm determined 2024 is the year I get my shit together!

My recent changes:

• Getting rid of SO MUCH stuff, I do not need 30+ mugs when I only really drink out of a few of them.
• Organised the junk drawer and put little trays in to keep things in their places.
• Project 333 on my wardrobe.
• Plugging my phone in on the other side of the bedroom, stops me scrolling it before trying to sleep and means I have to get up out of bed to switch the alarm off in the morning so no repeat snoozing.

I tape a poly pocket on the side of big appliances where possible and put the manual and warranty details in it.

Only thing I can think of off the top of my head-
I created a WhatsApp for the families chores. Neither DH or DD can say they didn't hear, or weren't aware something was their responsibility given to them.
I also pop on the stuff I do throughout the day/evening so they get to know what "invisible" work I do.
It's actually revolutionising the way that we deal with the housework. It's not just me right now.

Witchcraft!

I (try) and make everyone get everything they need ready the night before, clothes and bags, so we're not scrabbling around in the morning. Particularly helpful when work is manic and I realise I forgot to wash a PE kit or dry a pair of football boots as we're trying to leave for school 🙈

Everyone has an allocated laundry day so all their washing is washed, dried and put away all together. Saves having piles of washing to sort which inevitably hang around for days.

In the week we try and do a ten minute tidy before bed to keep on top of it, particularly their bedrooms.

Meal planning and batch cooking is next on my list!

I keep thinking of things now
If you have something that is crap, bin it and get a new one. Stop battling with the crap tin opener!

This sounds really obvious but I was getting annoyed with a frying pan that was past its end, kept sticking etc. One day I was making an omelette in it, and launched the entire pan with omelette in the bin
Bought a new one. No more stress

Really enjoying this thread, some of you have some ingenious ideas!

We only have a 3 drawer freezer, so we do 3 weeks' meal planning. Frozen things for week 1 go in the top drawer, week 2 is the second drawer etc. Some things get used every week (eg frozen onions) so they move down the drawers as required.

Veggie chilli, for example, is week 1, so we make a double portion and freeze the other half flat in a ziplock bag and that goes on the top shelf. Large packs of chicken breasts are split between the 3 drawers because DH uses them in some form each week - stir-fry, curry, casserole etc.

It's also easier for the online shopping because I just count back 3 weeks and do a duplicate order, that takes care of 90% of it anyway.

Omg you are a natural management consultant. I have been optimising processes in industries for years using agile ways of working and agile coaches and I do not even do this myself at home!!!
have you ever considered an agile coach career?!

Only applicable if you have a baby, but I pop a aesthetically pleasing basket (wicker or knotted rope - it looks like decor) with nappies, wipes and change mat in all the rooms we play in often.
So lounge, playroom etc. So I don't have to run up to the bedroom with the baby when we're all in the conservatory playing/cooking in the kitchen. (And having to drag the toddler up too)

You sound like the exact opposite of a "shit driver" as you clearly care! Glad the camera has eased your anxiety though

Robot Hoover switch it on every day and leave it to do its thing.

Peloton get exercise without leaving the house, can fit 20 minutes in most days (sometimes in my pyjamas or when I’m in a boring meeting at work when I’m not expected to say anything.

That’s a good one.

Relatedly: when you get a little tool or Allen key with new flatpack furniture, once the furniture is assembled masking tape the key/tool to the underside of the furniture.

Then you have it when you need to disassemble the furniture for moving house or similar, if you need to tighten up some screws in the furniture if they get loose over time, and if you need a little Allen key for something else you also know where to find it (but don’t forget to put it back! Otherwise when you really need it you’ll only find a strip of masking tape half hanging off 😞).

We have a toddler, so a packet of tissues on every flat surface - coffee table, dining table, kitchen bench… and this is all one smallish open plan space!

Visual meal planning - it’s quite “arts and crafts” but I’ve printed out pictures of our favourite meals and hot glued them to magnets. These are stuck to our magnetic chalkboard which has the days of the week gridded out with spaces for lunch - dinner - notes.

I find this makes meal planning quicker than scrawling out “Tuesday: curry” on a scrap of paper (or on the chalkboard for that matter!). It’s also easy to shuffle the magnets (fried rice should go after curry night so we can make double rice…).

I designed a template in Canva (free online design program) so they’re consistent and I can overlay the name of the dish. If it’s a specific recipe, I note the book it’s from and the exact page on the back of the picture.

And from a discussion I was having with a friend who’s moving into a new space: define your decor style! This can be a complete word salad: I’m “mid century maximalism,” she’s “modern neutral.” Plug either of those terms into Pinterest/google + what you’re looking for (“modern neutral bed frame”) and it will spit out suggestions you’re into much faster than trawling through ikea! And your house will look more coherent/styled with no extra effort. If you’re tempted by any homewears etc - does this this fit with my decor style? Saves unneeded purchases.

How would you even know what decor style you are? I've never even heard of those!

If you’re going away on holiday or for any other sort of trip and haven’t laundered clothes that you need to take, you can wash them (quicker than washing and drying) and pack them damp wrapped in carrier and hang them up when you get there to dry.

I mean if the place you are going has a washing machine you can just take them dirty. But the above tip works for hotels.

If finances allow you can put stuff through the laundry service at the hotel. Handy for a longer trip.

Clean the loo and sink etc when the kids are in the bath.

All my ‘Tupperware’ is stored with its lid on.

Saw this on YouTube last year. Game changer, doesn’t take up much space as I’d thought. No huffing and puffing looking for lids, and as the video said if you’ve no tubs left your fridge needs cleaning 🤣

If it’s something you take a keen interest in (and it’s ok not to) then these kind of terms will be very much on your radar. It’s something I dabble in a fair bit, so I can picture @MrsClausMaybe‘s style

Surely the clothes then smell of damp though? I wash clothes on holiday in the shower . Use the freebie shower gel and walk on them whilst using the shower to wash them. Rinse and hang outside if there is a balcony, otherwise drip dry in the shower on a hanger or over a towel rail . Holiday laundry facilities are very expensive.

I was reminded of another by a PP mentioning stocking up when things are on discount.

I have a shopping list saved on my supermarket app of all the stuff I either think is overpriced and I'd only buy on deal or that I prefer to wait for a deal and then stock up (loo roll, coffee, persil etc). I also have all the pack sizes on there as a smaller one on a good deal or voucher can be much cheaper than the big pack at full price.

They can come with patterns on or plain colours, they don't have to be white. We have plain blue or plain green on our bed (Night Lark brand) and matching pillowcases. DDs have character ones from Asda so definitely not plain white. They aren't really like a normal duvet with no cover on, they do have a stitched on cover that is soft.

They wash and dry really well and don't bunch up at all. Our coverless duvet is a 4 tog king-size and it goes in the washing machine easily with the sheet and pillowcases. Dry in the tumble dryer for an hour or hang over the bannister to dry and it's dry within 2 to 3 hours. I'm not sure a bigger one would easily fit in our washing machine so we just add a warm blanket over the top of the duvet in winter.

I can fit both DDs' single coverless duvets in the washing machine at the same time.

All instruction manuals and guarantees are in clear folders, organized by the room the thing is in - e.g. the microwave instructions and oven instructions in the 'kitchen' folder.

The manual for pretty much every appliance ever made is available free online so all you have to do is google the make and brand, then you can store the link in a Notes note in your phone and then chuck the manual out.

I'm a top sheet convert, after holidaying in the USA where everyone had them. I also use big nappy pins to pin the corners of my duvet into its cover.

Things like washing-up liquid, cleaning sprays, shampoo, deodorant etc. I always buy the next one when I start a new one, so I never run out.

I stuck coloured reinforcement rings I had kept from the 80s onto the backs of our passports, a different colour for each person.

DH and I have set up a joint gmail for certain things like bills or house things. Really useful not to have to forward emails all the time. Most useful is the joint Google drive where I save all our joint documents like insurance or bills so we can access them easily. Really handy to get hold of our insurance certificate when we had a car accident a few years back.